Hardwood Flooring – Instant Elegance for Your Home

Hardwood flooring is undeniably one of the premier ways to enhance the elegance of your home. Hardwood flooring adds a touch of class to any home regardless of origin, but of all the hardwood floors, oak occupies the pride of place. Wide plank hardwood flooring in oak, maple, and many other species, bring uniquely warm ambiance to an interior and create a finished interior that makes a statement of decorative finesse.

Once upon a time, hardwood flooring was the rule, not the exception. Above a certain age, most of us can remember sliding on stocking feet down newly waxed corridors or sitting on our parent’s hardwood floors playing board games. As time went by, new surface—often cheaper, lower maintenance, or perceived “more modern”—replaced traditional hardwood floors. Linoleum, ceramic tile, and the ubiquitous wall-to-wall carpeting took the place of the noble flooring that warmed our homes.

All hardwood flooring comes in several grades and variations. After making your initial choice to go with hardward flooring, you will have a choice between hardwood flooring that ranges from standardized grades: clear, select, common, and common 2. The main distinction among the grades is the amount of variations and manufacturing imperfections found in any particular hardwood floor grade. Clear hardwood is the grade with the fewest imperfections and is usually cut from the heartwood. Common hardwood 2 will have the most imperfections “knots, variations and tone” of all the grades. The price of the flooring will be highest for clear hardwood, ranging down through the grades. This does not necessarily mean clear oak is “the best” for you. Individual tastes come into play, as well as economics. One home owner may prefer a blemish-free clear hardwood floors, while another may be more charmed by rustic hardwood flooring with all its markings and variations. There is also a choice to be made among a large variety of solid flooring, engineered flooring, and laminate flooring options.

Whatever grade or color you choose, the decision to add the warmth and depth of real hardwood flooring to your home is one that will both add value and elegance to your surroundings. Hardwood floors are a time-honored tradition for a reason: their naturally warm tones, durability, and harmonizing aesthetics bring beauty into any decorating scheme. Hardwood floors under your feet satisfy with a solid, earthy connection to both nature and history that your family can enjoy for the life of your home.